Connie is a co-founder and creative director at ahoy. She was born in the very early 70s as a true Bavarian. The wall came down and she moved to Berlin, where she met AHOY’s other co-founder Aline Ozkan as a fellow student, friend, and finally master graduate in communication design at the University of Arts. In 1995 she fell in love with New York during a trip dedicated to explore American art and design, and followed an offer from the Chelsea art center The Kitchen to curate their video art collection and to design the center’s materials. After a call to Milan where she redesigned a fashion magazine for Rizzoli, she joined the artists, activists and Tibor Kalman associates Marlene McCarty and Donald Moffett at New York design firm Bureau to work with The Andy Warhol Foundation, Sundance Channel and the United Nations. In 2000, she co-founded the design studio AHOY together with Aline, and today she leads the firm as creative director and partner in New York, Zurich and Berlin. Connie is the author and creative director of the book ‘2/15 – the day the world said NO to war’ which has received broad recognition as an award winning example of activist design. Connie personally oversees all and creates some of the creative work executed at AHOY, and has developed decade-long relationships with most of AHOY’s bigger clients including several agencies of the United Nations, Rockefeller Foundation, the German Foreign Ministry, and New York University. She is known for her bold yet minimal style that merges a disciplined European design sensibility with a fresh American attitude, always putting the message first. In her view, meaningful content is the key criteria to successful design: a viable purpose and mission that makes our planet a nicer, more beautiful and creative place. Connie’s work has been widely published, won numerous awards and she has been a guest lecturer about Design in the Non-Profit Sector at Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute. Her personal work explores art beyond the boundaries of design. She experiments with painting, photography, collage, ceramics, wool, furniture, and spaces to enhance our precious time on earth with beauty, humor, and optimism.

Denise’s journey in the design world began 25 years ago, fueled by a youthful passion for creativity and rooted in hard work and a desire to use design for good while delivering impactful, beautiful, and timeless creativity. Today, she is the co-owner and creative director of AHOY Studios, a testament to her unwavering dedication and unparalleled contributions to the field. From her early days as a budding designer, Denise’s trajectory has been marked by an insatiable passion for design, an innate talent for creativity, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. In her current position, Denise not only guides AHOY Studios but also collaborates on projects with global significance, such as those with the United Nations, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Under her leadership, AHOY is consistently delivering award-winning projects; AHOY Studios has become a hub of creativity, producing projects that leave a lasting impact on a global scale. Her keen eye for design aesthetics, coupled with a strategic mindset, has positioned the studio as a leader in the industry. Denise’s journey from Frankfurt to Paris and finally to the bustling creativity of New York City is a story of exploration and self-discovery. Her academic pursuits at Parsons and early roles at Visionaire, Number 17, and Workman Publishing were stepping stones leading to her current role. Denise remains committed to sharing her knowledge as a guest lecturer at Parsons School of Design and FIT in New York. A passionate New Yorker, Denise is inspired by the city every day!

 

 

 

Paulina, born in Wroclaw, Poland, has been a designer for more than a decade. She completed her studies at the Academy of Arts and Design in Wroclaw, majoring in interior design. Following graduation, she relocated to Berlin, where she worked in various design agencies and as a freelancer for nearly eight years. Her main focus now is UI and UX design. Subsequently, she lived in different countries, including Spain, Kenya, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic, aiming to blend her three passions: design, traveling, and surfing. Moving to New York, she joined ahoy as our lead UX / UI designer. In her free time, she enjoys creating short documentaries about people around her.

“In my opinion code is just a formal language we can translate real world concepts into. To me, that means a great focus needs to be put on communication and process design as the code can be nothing more than the formal implementation of both.” Arne Spremberg is a programmer at heart and a specialist in digital products. He guides our clients’ web projects with discovery and strategy workshops, consults on sitemaps and design, and develops resulting responsive web modules, always putting the user first. Arne’s technological and theoretical skills are rooted within his media and computer science studies at “TU Berlin”. Having a personal background in the music industry, he brings a strong understanding for creative processes to the table.

Lucia Del Zotto is from Pordenone, Italy. After her graduation in editorial design at Isia Urbino, Lucia moved to New York to intern at ahoy. A 6 months stay became a 2 years long experience, when Lucia also worked with Sagmeister&Walsh, Pentagram, Graphis and Brutal Magazine. After moving back to Italy, she collaborated with design studio Zaven and was artist in residence at Fondazione Bevilaqua La Masa in Venice. In 2020 Lucia obtained a PhD in Design Sciences at Iuav University of Venice with a research on the relationship between photographers and graphic designers in the Italian advertising between the 50s and the 70s. Lucia joined ahoy again as a senior designer in 2021!

Kevin brings more than 20 years of experience to building brands, telling stories and creating compelling content in every medium they’ve come up with so far. Along the way he’s been lucky enough to win most of the major awards: Clios, Addy’s, Andy’s, Effies, CA, D&AD, Lürzer’s Archive, Art Directors Club, One Show Pencils and Cannes Lions of all the metal flavors and even a piece in the MoMA thanks to AICP. He has been at big agencies (JWT, McCann) and small (Mad Dogs and Englishmen) and everything in between (BBH/NY) and managed clients from multi-national to boutique Mom & Pop to NGO. Kevin studied and performed Improv at Upright Citizens Brigade for more than 10 years, doing live improv, making short films and writing sketch shows. He also studied long-form Story Structure with Robert McKee and somewhere along the way became a Trained Healer in Pranayama Breath Technique. He’s the father of a 8 year old daughter, who keeps him challenged, curious and grounded, as well as constantly in need of a nap.

Giulia Zoavo is an illustrator and designer from Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Her love for culturally and socially relevant projects brought her to AHOY, starting a continuative and fruitful collaboration and friendship. After studying graphic design and advertising, she started her career interning at esterni and Zetalab, working for cultural events such as Milano Film Festival and Public Design Festival. She then joined BBDO Milan where she worked as a senior designer on a wide range of international clients. During that time, she also cut her teeth working as a freelancer for art galleries and art fairs, designing materials and helping in the organization of events and exhibitions in Milan and Paris. She also served for several years as the art and creative director of Cosebelle Magazine, a popular lifestyle webzine focused on women and gender equity. In the US she has been collaborating with international agencies and clients as well as magazines, independent studios and non-profit organizations. Inspired by diversity, urban life and pop culture, Giulia creates conceptual and minimal illustrations, icons, brand identities and graphics that speak to a broad audience and spread positive vibes. Her works have been recognized and exhibited in Europe, Mexico and the US, and have appeared in several iconic locations in NYC, including the Link screens in all 5 boroughs and the rink at Rockefeller Center.

Nada Abouzeid was born in Cairo. A lifelong lover of travel and art, she packed her bags in 2014 to study Information and Communication Design at the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences in Germany. With her education and multiple passions, she began work on projects she cared about, creating easy to understand designs for Kamp-Lintfort’s Refugee Support Group, and making eye-catching posters for concerts around Europe. Nada’s professional career took off when she worked at Whybrand in Frankfurt, where she homed in on her branding skills. Knowing her heart belonged in the big city, she joined us in New York, proving that turbulent times can’t stop her from creating intelligent and stimulating design.

Liv Bustorff is an enthusiastic and versatile creative from Germany. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in visual media and communications design from Münster School of Design in summer of 2021. During her time there, she worked as a tutor of public relations, organizing and promoting a weekly lecture series with creatives from all over the world. Now she is eager to take on fresh challenges, moving outside of her comfort zone to develop new skills. Her ambition is to create scalable change through creativity and use design to inspire a better tomorrow. That’s why she couldn’t be more excited to be part of the Ahoy family and live in a vibrant city like New York.

Patricia Schuh is an enthusiastic and curious graphic designer from Vienna, Austria. Patricia’s love for design and exploration has led her to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design at the University of Derby, UK, and then pursue her Master’s degree in MultiMediaArt at the Fachhochschule Salzburg, Austria. With a keen eye for detail and a natural flair for aesthetics, she has honed her skills through various internships and design projects. Recently, Patricia made the exciting move to New York City, where she is eager to immerse herself in the city’s vibrant design scene and collaborate with fellow creatives. With her natural curiosity, positive attitude, and drive to succeed, she is poised to find endless inspiration in the bustling metropolis and make an impact in the world of graphic design.